Receptacle-mounted cover plate to hide electrical socket face

ABSTRACT

An easily-installed cover plate for hiding the face of sockets by covering an electrical outlet, including the face of the sockets. The cover plate is mounted over the receptacle and has apertures for plug blades. In the preferred embodiment, the cover plate is rectangularly shaped to cover a duplex receptacle, having apertures to receive plug blades and a center hole for receiving a screw which secures the cover plate over the duplex receptacle.

This application is a continuation of patent application by Shotey, etal. entitled “RECEPTACLE-MOUNTED COVER PLATE TO HIDE ELECTRICAL SOCKETFACE”, Ser. No. 09/351,761, filed Jul. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,511,343, which is a continuation of patent application by Shotey, etal. entitled “RECEPTACLE-MOUNTED COVER PLATE TO HIDE ELECTRICAL SOCKETFACE,” Ser. No. 08/775,382, filed Dec. 30, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No.5,965,846, which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates generally to cover plates for electrical outletsand more particularly to a simplified means to cover the face ofunattractive electrical sockets and thereby make the outlet moreaesthetically pleasing.

2. Background Art

Conventional electrical outlets are made of several components,including a wall box and a receptacle, which is typically composed ofpairs of sockets and a yoke. The receptacle is typically attached to thewall box that is typically attached to a framing member inside the wall,and is accessible through a hole cut in the wall. A cover plate havingapertures to allow the sockets to protrude is installed over thesecomponents, typically with one or two screws. Electrical devices areplugged in by inserting the plug blades through aligned apertures in thecover plate and socket.

A cover plates is installed after construction. It is common practice toremove the cover plate during remodeling or redecorating so that it doesnot become damaged or defaced with paint drips and splatters, wallpaperpaste, or other decorating materials. The conventional cover plate iseasily removed by unscrewing the screw or screws that attach it directlyto the receptacle. However, the receptacle is not usually removed duringremodeling or redecorating because it is hard-wired into the building'selectrical system. Consequently, the receptacle and sockets are leftexposed and the face of the sockets become covered with paint splattersand the like. If not cleaned immediately, the face becomes permanentlydefaced, thereby making the electrical outlet more unsightly andconspicuous. Repeated paintings only make the problem worse.Reinstalling the cover plate then emphasized the paint-splatteredsurface of the outlet, as the defaced socket surface is compared to thepristine surface of the cover plate.

Cover plates are not available in a variety of colors and decoratortextures to more closely go with any decor, and sometimes are evencovered with wallpaper to match the wall. However, the underlyingreceptacles and cover plates are made in standard colors, usually beigeand dark brown, and unfortunately do not match many decorative coverplates. Because most cover plates allow the face of the sockets to beexposed, such mismatched sockets and cover plates cause the outlets tobe more conspicuous. It is desirable, then, to provide a cover platethat can be installed over existing receptacles that covers not only thewall box assembly, but the face of the sockets, too, in order to makethe outlet less conspicuous and more attractive.

Decorative cover plates known in the art attempt to make outlets moreattractive by attaching a new cover plate to existing cover plates. Forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,784,277 Darlington describes an ornamentalcover for a light switch manufacturable in many colors. The cover is amultilayer pad of adhesively-backed sheets which is adhesively attachedto the existing cover plate. When desired, a decorative sheet may beremoved, exposing a new sheet. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,458, Stewartdescribes a fabric slipcover for an existing cover plate. In U.S. Pat.No. 3,840,692 Wells describes an outsized cover plate that is screwedover an existing cover plate. Because these decorative cover platesoverlay the existing cover plate, these inventions result in a coverthat projects farther from the wall than the original cover plate,thereby making the outlet even more noticeable.

More complex devices have been invented to achieve an aestheticallypleasing electrical outlet. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,886 issuedto Dierenbach describes an entire wall box assembly to provide anattractive designer-style appearance. The decorative appearance isachieved with the use of a multi-component cover plate requiring aplurality of attachment means to secure the components in place.

The prior art also describes removable paint shields to protect thesockets and cover plates during painting. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,128Grondin describes a cover that removably adheres to an existing coverplate of an electrical outlet so that the electrical elements areprotected during painting. The device completely covers the receptaclessuch that a plug may not be inserted. Gilchrist describes a paint shieldin U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,014 that also covers all exposed surfaces of anelectrical outlet. The shield is temporarily attached using suction ofadhesives, or with prongs that fit snugly in the socket apertures. Whilethese devices do protect the outlets if installed before painting, theydo not remedy the situation where the sockets are already defaced.Similarly, these covers do not provide a means for making the outletsmore attractive.

Other patents describe inventions that replace existing cover plates toimprove safety of the outlet. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,042 Klingerdescribes a decorative safety cover plate that replaces the existingplate. This invention comprises a base plate and a decorative face platethat slides between a closed position where the sockets are occluded,and an open position where the sockets are exposed. Barla describes asafety cover plate i U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,426 that replaces the existingcover plate. The plate has manually positionable shutters to occlude theentire socket so that plugs may not be inserted. While improving safety,these devices are multi-component parts that are relatively expensive,more difficult to install, and prone to breaking. They also suffer thesame problem as the known decorative cover plates: they project fartherfrom the wall than the original cover plate, thereby making the outleteven more noticeable.

The problem of defacing electrical receptacles during painting isageold, the prior art showing remedies attempting a simpler means tocover the face of unattractive electrical sockets and thereby make theoutlet less conspicuous dating back to the early 1900's. Nevertheless, asimple, easily-installed, inexpensive cover plate to make existingoutlets more attractive has evaded invention. There exists a long-feltneed for a simple, inexpensive way to make electrical outlets moreattractive, without having to resort to replacing the receptacle orentire wall box assembly, or making the outlet project even farther fromthe wall.

The primary objective of this invention is to provide a simplified meansto cover the face of unattractive electrical sockets and thereby makethe outlet less noticeable. This objective is achieved with the severalembodiments described below and in the accompanying claims and drawings.Variations and modifications whish are in the spirit of this inventionand known to those skilled in the art are considered to fall within thescope of this patent.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a simple, easily-installed cover plate thathides the face of sockets by covering an electrical outlet, includingthe face of the sockets. The cover plate is mounted over the receptacleand has apertures for plug blades. Several embodiments of the presentinvention are presented to achieve these objectives. In the preferredembodiment, the cover plate is rectangularly shaped to cover a duplexreceptacle, having apertures to receive plug blades and a center holefor receiving a screw which secures the cover plate over the duplexreceptacle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cover plate installed over anexisting receptacle.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2—2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the cover plate installed over an existingreceptacle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, where like indicia refer to like parts, thepreferred embodiments of the invention, denoted generally as 10, isillustrated as installed over an existing receptacle 12. The cover plate11 has a set of apertures 14 for plug blades. A screw 15 is insertedthrough another aperture 16 to secure the cover plate 11 over theexisting receptacle 12.

In conventional outlets, the sockets 17 extend beyond the plane of thewall 18 through apertures in the conventional cover plate (not shown).Ideally, the cover plate and the face of the sockets are flush, whichnecessitates that the conventional cover plate project approximately0.20-0.25 inches from the wall. In the present invention, the coverplate 11 is specifically designed to cover the face of the receptacle 12and it sockets 17, so there are no apertures for the sockets. Instead,the cover plate 11 is adapted to receive the face of the socket 17,which is shaped like a truncated circle as shown at socket 17 of FIG. 3,against the reverse side of the cover plate 11. See FIG. 2. While thefront of the cover plate 11 is of smooth or uniform topography, in thepreferred embodiment the reverse side of the cover plate 11 hasdepressed, thinned areas 19 defining receiving areas with surroundingridges for receiving the face of the sockets. By fitting the face of thesockets into these thinned areas when the cover plate 11 in installed,the cover plate 11 of the present invention the projects beyond theplane of the wall approximately the same distance as a conventionalcover plate. Preferably the thinned areas 19 are sufficiently large foreasy installation over any socket face.

While the shape of the thinned areas need not coincide with the shape ofthe socket, the thinned areas can be manufactured to precisely match theshape of the socket. The cover plate is stronger and more durable withsmaller thinned areas, however. With the more durable embodiment of thecover plate, the cover plate can also protect the receptacle from damagedue to rough handling. For example, if a plug inserted into an outletwith a conventional cover plate is yanked out of the wall sideways, thatis, substantially parallel to the wall, the forces applied to thesockets can cause the receptacle to be jarred loose or to crack. A coverplate of the present invention can help protect the receptacle becauseas the plug is pulled sideways from an outlet having the present coverplate, the applied forces act on the present cover plate, reducing oreliminating the forces on the receptacle.

Refer now to FIG. 3 showing an exploded view of the preferred embodimentcover plate 11 installed over an existing receptacle illustrating thecover plate 11, receptacle 12, sockets 17, yoke 20, wall box 21, andwall 18. The cover plate 11 is secured over the receptacle 12 byinserting a screw 15 through at least one securing aperture 16 intoaligned, mated, threaded receiving apertures 22 in the receptacle 12 oryoke 20. For example, conventional receptacles have a threaded receivingaperture centered between the sockets for receiving a screw while otheroutlets have a pair of recieiving apertures placed at opposite ends ofthe receptacle in the yoke. The present invention may be made toaccommodate any underlying receptacle, although only the preferredembodiment is shown in the figures. If necessary to strengthen the coverplate's securing aperture, a protrusion such as the flange shownsurrounding the securing aperture in FIG. 2, may project outwardly fromthe reverse side of the cover plate.

Alternative means may be used for securing the cover plate 11 over thereceptacle. In particular, a pin may be inserted through at least onesecuring aperture into aligned, mated receiving aperture or apertures inthe receptacle or yoke. If securing apertures are not desired, the coverplate may be adhesively attached over the receptacle or yoke.Furthermore, the cover plate may be snapped onto the receptacle byfitting the sockets snugly into the depressed, thinned areas that havebeen manufactured to precisely match the shape of the socket.

The number of apertures in the cover plate for receiving plug blades isdependent on the number of blades on the plug. Typically, the number andposition of apertures on the cover plate will match the number andposition of apertures on the receptacles, although fewer apertures maybe used on the cover plate to occlude apertures in the sockets, ifdesired. Conventional dual receptacle outlets have two sets ofapertures, one set for each socket. In addition to outlets havingdifferent number of apertures, outlets may have varying numbers ofsockets. For example, conventional outlets have two sockets and areknown as one-gang outlets as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Two-gang outlets arealso common. The cover plate of the present invention can be made withcorresponding number and placement of apertures to match and align withthe number of underlying sockets.

The cover plates of the present invention typically have outsidedimensions that substantially match a conventional or existing exciterplate, but the cover plates herein described may be designed in anydesired size and shape to enhance the appearance of the electricaloutlet.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cover plate for an electrical outlet having atleast one socket with a truncated circle-shaped socket face havingapertures therethrough, the cover plate comprising: a front surfaceregion which covers the at least one truncated circle-shaped socket facebut for having a plurality of plug blade apertures and at least onesecuring aperture, wherein the cover plate is formed as a single, solidcomponent except for the plug blade apertures and the securing aperture;and a back surface region, opposite the front surface region, whereinthe back surface region comprises at least one structure that contactsan edge of the at least one truncated circle-shaped socket of theelectrical outlet.
 2. The cover plate of claim 1, wherein the at leastone structure configured to align the apertures includes at least onetruncated circle-shaped recessed portion in the reverse side sized andshaped to fit snugly over the socket face.
 3. The cover plate of claim1, wherein the at least one structure configured to align the aperturesincludes at least one ridge on the reverse side of the cover plate, theridge sized and shaped, at least in part, to mate with a portion of thesocket and thereby align the plug blade apertures of the cover platewith the apertures of the socket face when the cover plate is mated withthe socket.
 4. The cover plate of claim 1, wherein the at least onestructure configured to align the apertures includes at least oneprotrusion extending from the reverse side of the cover plate, the atleast one protrusion configured to provide rigid support against an edgeof each of at least two truncated circle-shaped sockets.
 5. The coverplate of claim 4, wherein the at least one protrusion comprises a flangesurrounding the securing aperture.
 6. The cover plate of claim 1,wherein the at least one structure configured to align the apertureincludes at least one protrusion from the reverse side of the coverplate, the at least one protrusion positioned on the reverse sidebetween a first set of plug blade apertures extending through the frontsurface region corresponding to a first socket and a second set of plugblade apertures extending through the front surface region correspondingto a second socket, the at least one protrusion sized and shaped tocontact the first and second sockets when the cover plate is installedon the electrical outlet to thereby align the plug blade apertures ofthe cover plate with the apertures of the truncated circle-shaped socketface when the cover plate is mated with the socket.
 7. The cover plateof claim 6, wherein the at least one protrusion comprises at least oneridge.
 8. The cover plate of claim 6, wherein the at least oneprotrusion comprises a flange surrounding the securing aperture.
 9. Acover plate for covering at least one electrically insulative socketface of at least one electrical socket of an electrical outlet, thesocket face having apertures through the electrically insulative socketface through which plug blades may extend to electrically contactconductive outlet terminals, the cover plate comprising: a front surfaceregion corresponding to at least one truncated circle-shaped socket faceand having a plurality of apertures for receiving plug blades and atleast one aperture for receiving a securing device; a back surfaceregion opposite the front surface region and corresponding to the atleast one truncated circle-shaped socket face, the back surface regioncomprising at least one cavity sized and shaped to receive the truncatedcircle-shaped socket face of the at least one socket; wherein the coverplate is formed as a single component.
 10. The cover plate of claim 9,wherein the back surface region further comprises at least one alignmentstructure thereon, the alignment structure configured to align the plugblade apertures of the cover plate with apertures of the socket face ofthe electrical outlet when the cover plate covers the socket face. 11.The cover plate of claim 10, wherein the at least one alignmentstructure comprises at least one truncated circle-shaped recessedportion in the reverse side sized and shaped to fit snugly over thesocket face.
 12. The cover plate of claim 10, wherein the at least onealignment structure comprises at least one ridge on the reverse side ofthe cover plate, the ridge including a portion sized and shaped to matewith a portion of the socket and thereby align the plug blade aperturesof the cover plate with the apertures of the socket face when the coverplate covers the socket face.
 13. The cover plate of claim 10, whereinthe at least one alignment structure comprises at least one protrusionextending from the reverse side of the cover plate, the protrusionconfigured to contact at least two sockets.
 14. The cover plate of claim13, wherein the at least one protrusion comprises a flange surroundingthe securing aperture.
 15. The cover plate of claim 10, wherein the atleast one alignment structure comprises at least one protrusion from thereverse side of the cover plate, the at least one protrusion positionedon the reverse side between a first set of plug blade aperturesextending through the front surface region corresponding to a firstsocket and a second set of plug blade apertures extending through thefront surface region corresponding to a second socket, the at least oneprotrusion sized and shaped to contact the first and second sockets whenthe cover plate covers the socket face to thereby align the plug bladeapertures of the cover plate with the apertures of the truncatedcircle-shaped socket face.
 16. The cover plate of claim 15, wherein theat least one protrusion comprises at least one ridge.
 17. The coverplate of claim 15, wherein the at least one protrusion comprises aflange surrounding the securing aperture.
 18. A cover plate for anelectrical outlet having at least two sockets each having a socket facewith apertures therethrough, the cover plate comprising: a front surfaceconfigured to cover at least two truncated circle-shaped socket facesbut for a plurality of plug blade apertures therethrough; and a backsurface, formed integral with and opposite the front surface, the backsurface comprising at least one alignment structure protruding from theback surface, the alignment structure sized and shaped to contact atleast one edge of each of the at least two truncated circle-shapedsocket faces of the electrical outlet when the cover plate is installedon the electrical outlet.
 19. The cover plate of claim 18, wherein theback surface comprises a recessed portion adjacent to the protrudingalignment structure, the recessed portion sized and shaped to receivethe truncated circle-shaped socket face therein.
 20. The cover plate ofclaim 18, wherein the at least one alignment structure comprises atleast one alignment structure adjacent the securing aperture.